Fans flooded social media with memories and thoughts of Pop Smoke on what would have been the rapper's 21st birthday on Monday.
"I sometimes forget how young Pop Smoke was. He had so much left to do in this world but his impact is everlasting. Happy Birthday Woo! #PopSmoke," one fan wrote on Twitter on Monday.
While the late rapper, whose birth name was Bashar Barakah Jackson, received an outpouring of love on social media, Smoke's camp revealed plans to honor him in his old neighborhood with a social-distance-friendly celebration marking the first annual Pop Smoke Day. "Happy Birthday Pop Smoke, An amazing artist who showed so much love & appreciation. His foundation is celebrating with a full day of fun for the local kids in the community," media maven Karen Civil announced in a Twitter post.
The "Welcome to the Party" rapper's birthday arrived just as the deluxe edition of his posthumous album,Shoot for the Stars, Aim for the Moon arrived on Monday, giving fans the chance to celebrate him by listening to 15 new songs that have since been added to the album. The album includes multiple features from musicians including Burna Boy, Davido, MnB Rock, A Boogie Wit da Hoodie, Fivio Foreign, Queen Naija and Jamie Foxx.
Steven Victor, owner of the Victor Victor Label Smoke was formerly managed by, confirmed on Instagram that even more new music from Smoke would release in the coming months. To honor Smoke's birthday, Victor shared an slew of photos of the rapper performing and replied to a fan's comment about plans for more posthumous albums in the future.
"There will be. Also a project pop, melo, axl & ricobeats were working on," Victor wrote.
Smoke was shot and killed inside a Hollywood Hills home he was renting in Los Angeles in February.
Two suspects involved in Smoke's death, 19-year-old Corey Walker and 18-year-old Keandre Rodgers, were hit with murder charges including a special circumstance allegation that could make them eligible for the death penalty if convicted, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced on July 13. Meanwhile, two minors whose identities have not been released were also charged with one count each of murder and robbery in juvenile court over the incident. The DA's Office also noted that a fifth person was also arrested in connection to the killing of Smoke, however, no charges have been pressed as of yet.
Law enforcement sources told TMZ ... the big break in the case leading to the arrests of 4 men allegedly connected to the rapper's death didn't come from a tipster, but instead from LAPD detectives pounding the pavement and knocking on doors.
Detectives went back to the basics because, as we reported, they hit a roadblock back in February when potential witnesses wouldn't cooperate, and combing social media turned out to be a bust.
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